Thinking of getting a Duo Sonic and...

lank81 · Post by **lank81** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:24 pm

So I used to have a sweet red Duo Sonic back in the 90s. It was my first electric and it was great. I didn't technically know much back then and eventually gave up playing since I was an impatient kid. Since then I've finally become disciplined and have been playing for a while now but am just unhappy with my strat. I'm actually going to trade my strat for a 96 Duo + some cash probably. So my question is which PuPs? I'm looking for an alt/rock grunge tone but I'd like to be able to keep it clean at times and have a nice tone on the neck PuP like I Want You(She's So Heavy) on Abbey Road. Is this possible? Suggestions? Also, any other good suggestions for bettering this sweet little shortscale guitar? I'll have a little cash to only better this nice guitar. Thanks for the help everyone.

Peace,
Lank

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:29 pm

see if robroe will chime in, he has a pretty nicely upgraded one with jaguar pickups, i think.

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:02 pm

I put a SD SJAG3 in teh neck and a splittable hotrails in the bridge of mine and was very happy with the range it gave the guitar.

lank81 · Post by **lank81** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:06 pm

endsjustifymeans wrote:I put a SD SJAG3 in teh neck and a splittable hotrails in the bridge of mine and was very happy with the range it gave the guitar.

Just listened to the SD JAG3 in the neck and bridge positions and boy does the SJAG-3 in the neck sound beautiful for Clean and Dirty. Awesome Rec. Thanks. I'm ging to still think about the Bridge pickup.

Thanks,
Lank

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:13 pm

lank81 wrote:
endsjustifymeans wrote:I put a SD SJAG3 in teh neck and a splittable hotrails in the bridge of mine and was very happy with the range it gave the guitar.
Just listened to the SD JAG3 in the neck and bridge positions and boy does the SJAG-3 in the neck sound beautiful for Clean and Dirty. Awesome Rec. Thanks. I'm ging to still think about the Bridge pickup.

Thanks,
Lank

It catches a lot of flak (SJAG3) because it really doesn't sound that much different than a normal jag pickup clean, maybe a bit more boomy with a little less annunciation. But it shines dirty, that where it really rises above the stock jag.

lank81 · Post by **lank81** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:17 pm

The HotRails is definitely in the running for the bridge pickup. Also looking at lil 59, JB Jr, and Lil Screamin Demon. The clarity I heard with the Lil SD is great but maybe not enough Mids / Dirt. The Hot Rails definitely has the most mid sounds but from those audio sample on SD it sounded a tad muddy. Do you think those recordings do justice?

Thanks
Lank

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:31 pm

The hotrails was both middy and muddy. It's a solid pickup for metal/punk and even some garagey sounds but it can get lost in the dirt a bit and it's so hyper that it'll start breaking up even the cleanest amp setting unless you roll back on the volume. It's clean sound is meh, I used it as a chugga chugga pickup and it was great in that capacity. Anything that really needed a voice I was on the SJAG3, though oddly it did coil split rather nicely. It became more trebly and of course lost some of that harsh power... matched up nicely with the warm boom of the sjag3.

It's a a great pickup for what it does, unfortunately it only does 1 or two sounds before becoming mush. If you want a dynamic bridge and are willing to look at humbuckers, I'd check out the lil' JB. I've no experience with them but I have a fullsized JB in my M-80 and it's without a doubt my favorite humbucker I've ever heard.

Pens · Post by **Pens** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:56 pm

I have the JB Jr in my Jag in the bridge, and I'm fairly happy with it despite it being a tad on the weak side.

I'm probably going to do a full JB in the bridge of my SuperSonic when I get it, but the Jr is a pretty nice pup for bridge playing.

Post by **dots** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:13 pm

and before you drop $100 on a duncan lil humbucker, take a look at gfs' single-spaced hb's. there's one called the "lil killer" that comes in vintage, modern, and lead frequency response styles. for $25, that's worth a try maybe.

Pens · Post by **Pens** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:21 pm

dots wrote:and before you drop $100 on a duncan lil humbucker, take a look at gfs' single-spaced hb's. there's one called the "lil killer" that comes in vintage, modern, and lead frequency response styles. for $25, that's worth a try maybe.

I'm actually a bit curious about putting one of these in my Jag. I'm quite the fan of GFS, if I could find a full JB replacement from GFS I'd be so there.

Post by **dots** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:30 pm

yeah, don't get me wrong. . . i think SD make some great pickups, but are they worth the prices? not if i can approximate the results cheaper!

Pens · Post by **Pens** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:33 pm

dots wrote:yeah, don't get me wrong. . . i think SD make some great pickups, but are they worth the prices? not if i can approximate the results cheaper!

Yeah I'm in complete agreement, I was really just fishing to see if anyone knew which if any GFS full size HBs are the equal to the JB.

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:40 pm

Pens wrote:
dots wrote:yeah, don't get me wrong. . . i think SD make some great pickups, but are they worth the prices? not if i can approximate the results cheaper!
Yeah I'm in complete agreement, I was really just fishing to see if anyone knew which if any GFS full size HBs are the equal to the JB.

Nothing I've tried by them has been equivalent to the JB. I wasn't overly impressed with their high output PAF either thats in my `51 either. It's good and angry, but that's all it is. I ADORE their Loudmouth's that I had on my Gibby though. Those have tone for days and even sound good and thick and loud when coil split.

Pens · Post by **Pens** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:50 pm

endsjustifymeans wrote:
Pens wrote:
dots wrote:yeah, don't get me wrong. . . i think SD make some great pickups, but are they worth the prices? not if i can approximate the results cheaper!
Yeah I'm in complete agreement, I was really just fishing to see if anyone knew which if any GFS full size HBs are the equal to the JB.
Nothing I've tried by them has been equivalent to the JB. I wasn't overly impressed with their high output PAF either thats in my `51 either. It's good and angry, but that's all it is. I ADORE their Loudmouth's that I had on my Gibby though. Those have tone for days and even sound good and thick and loud when coil split.

The Loudmouths were what I was mostly wondering about. Not liek JB?

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:59 pm

tone for days from a pickup?

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:05 pm

Pens wrote:
endsjustifymeans wrote:
Pens wrote: Yeah I'm in complete agreement, I was really just fishing to see if anyone knew which if any GFS full size HBs are the equal to the JB.
Nothing I've tried by them has been equivalent to the JB. I wasn't overly impressed with their high output PAF either thats in my `51 either. It's good and angry, but that's all it is. I ADORE their Loudmouth's that I had on my Gibby though. Those have tone for days and even sound good and thick and loud when coil split.
The Loudmouths were what I was mostly wondering about. Not liek JB?

They're much more mid rangey than my JB. not in a bad way at all, they have real lush mids. They distort easier than the JB's as well. They distort much more in a metal way than a noise rock way... I don't know any other way to explain it than that. I love them, and will definitely use them the next time I need a replacement bridge humbucker. But they're very different from my JB. Granted my JB is also a Duncan Designed and not a true SD, whatever that may mean.

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:08 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:tone for days from a pickup?

Most definitely... just from the pickup variations I have I can see large tonal differences. From high, mid or low emphasis to pickups that either strangle the signal a bit and make it real sleezy sounding to pickups that sort of massage the signal and make it real lush. I think plenty of the "tone" comes from the pickup choice.

lank81 · Post by **lank81** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:18 pm

dots wrote:and before you drop $100 on a duncan lil humbucker, take a look at gfs' single-spaced hb's. there's one called the "lil killer" that comes in vintage, modern, and lead frequency response styles. for $25, that's worth a try maybe.

I say spending 25$ and giving it a shot is well worth it. If it doesn't fit my needs I'll sell it / trade it somewhere and get a Duncan little, unless I can route out the guitar and just put in a full JB. I don't know that I feel like getting in to that much trouble. Definitely going to check out the GFS. Thanks a bunch.

Lank

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:28 pm

i put sjag-3's in my duo sonic when i frist got it. they were too powerfull for such a small guitar. there just wasn't any clarity to them. so i took them out and put them in my 2002 compstang and put the compstang pickups in the duo sonic. they sound fucking amazing. thats right. stock mustang pickups from japan sound great in my duo sonic. the sjag3's sound great in the compstang by the way. i like the fact that one of my mustangs is a rock monster so i can leave the other one stock.

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:30 pm

Pens wrote:
endsjustifymeans wrote:
Pens wrote: Yeah I'm in complete agreement, I was really just fishing to see if anyone knew which if any GFS full size HBs are the equal to the JB.
Nothing I've tried by them has been equivalent to the JB. I wasn't overly impressed with their high output PAF either thats in my `51 either. It's good and angry, but that's all it is. I ADORE their Loudmouth's that I had on my Gibby though. Those have tone for days and even sound good and thick and loud when coil split.
The Loudmouths were what I was mostly wondering about. Not liek JB?

I did a demo of the bridge and neck Loudmouth's in my Les Paul through my Sunn Beta Lead.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WCAHZKRV

I gotta warn you, my playing was even more crap then than it is now... and I have no freaking idea how to properly do a demo.